Press Releases

Nintendo Promises More Zelda on the Way

Retail Shortages of Video Game Should Be Rectified Soon

Redmond, Wash. (November, 27, 1998) Even though demand for the video game of the century has exceeded supply in many parts of the country, Nintendo of America today announced hundreds of thousands of additional copies of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be on their way to retail stores beginning Monday

Across America, more than half a million people placed advance cash deposits to guarantee delivery of the Nintendo 64 game cartridge at its official launch last Monday (Nov. 23). That figure more than triples the previous record for pre-sell for any video game in history.

“Whatever shortages do exist should be of very short duration,” says Peter Main, executive vice president of sales and marketing, Nintendo of America. “We're moving product into stores just as fast as we can produce it. And we remain on track to ship two and a half million copies of Zelda to stores by Christmas Eve, and the game remains on track to become the fastest-seller in U.S. history.”

“The idea that one game can sell over two million copies in less than two months makes it a phenomenon not just in the video game business, but in consumer products in general,” says Sean McGowan, executive vice president and director of research at Gerard, Klauer Mattison in New York. “To think that this amount of business can be done in one item in a relatively small piece of real estate space in stores means it'll probably be the best performing item at the toy stores.”

"Zelda's gonna own Christmas no doubt,” adds Simon Cox, Executive Editor of Next Generation magazine. “You're gonna start playing it, and Christmas Day is gonna pass you by and New Year's is probably gonna pass you by as well. (It's) brilliant value it's magical, and Christmas should be magical. It's a magical game. That's why we've said it's the game of the century.”

Adds Peer Schneider, editor of IGN64.com, “it's the most impressive video game I've ever played.”

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a novel blending of stunning 3D action with the engrossing story line of a traditional role-play game. Several independent game reviewers have compared the epic experience of playing Zelda to reading a great novel because of the degree of character development and depth of plot. Consumers began seeing excerpts of game footage in more than 11,000 movie theatres across the country beginning November 1st. The game, exclusively for the Nintendo 64 home game systems, carries a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $69.95.

Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the leader in the worldwide $15 billion retail video game industry. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its best-selling home video game systems, including the hand-held Game Boy, the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the 64-bit Nintendo 64. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Washington, serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere, where more than 40 percent of American households own a Nintendo game system.

For more information on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, or any Nintendo product, visit Nintendo's web site on the Internet, www.nintendo.com.

Next Generation magazine, December 1998